Golfers Return to Courses in Stunning Numbers

It's now been over a fortnight since golf courses gratefully opened their doors throughout England, joining those in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, ushering in a welcome return of the game across the United Kingdom.

For many golfers, this had been the longest of winters, when even the range was a deprived option. However, when March 29 came around, that pent up desire to play was released in spectacular fashion, with packed tee sheets resembling the surge in demand that was first showcased last May. 

Some would have doubted whether that boom was likely to be replicated, but despite coming over a month earlier this time, it's now clear that the enthusiasm and hunger to play remains stronger than ever.

Anecdotally, many have reported on the busy fairways at clubs, delivering a confidence that has contributed to new investment in the game, but on Golfshake, we can helpfully lend some data to back up the personal stories of a fresh golf boom.

There is no better judge than the Golfshake Score Tracker, which has remarkably seen rounds tracked in early April matching the totals recorded in the summer of 2020, which itself was a bumper period of unprecedented traffic.

Looking back to 2019 and 2018, we have seen since the return of golf a 60% rise in what would normally be anticipated. Such a surge isn't usually witnessed until May. That underlines that packed courses are - for now - here to stay.

But where are golfers playing? The busiest venues on Golfshake have been Three Rivers in Essex, East Horton in Hampshire, Warwickshire's Stonebridge, Ombersley in Worcestershire, and the acclaimed Toot Hill.

Ask yourself how many rounds you have played since the resumption of play, but it'll be hard to compete with three members of the Golfshake Community who can already account for 16 tracked rounds each!

It's not just round tracking, either, golfers are looking for destinations to experience, searching for tee times in significant numbers. Traffic to the Golfshake Course Section is up 57% compared to 2019.

Additionally, we have seen an influx of golfers consuming our content across the website, email newsletters and YouTube Channel. This has also been presented through the flood of users back tracking rounds, signing up to the Score Tracker and downloading the Golfshake App.

The new golf season has come just at the right moment - and with many keen to make up for lost time, there is much to be optimistic about as we move into the peak months of 2021.